Not withstanding the fact that here in the UK we are only a whisker away from a total ban on smacking of one’s offspring, the fact that young mothers do not chastise their sons with sufficient vigour, if at all, is leading us to a dark and lonely place.
Apologists immediatley confuse sensible chastisement with abuse, but if anything the incidence of genuine abuse is rising higher than ever, even with the ‘no smacking’ ideas being almost the norm. I’ll get the violin out again, but in the 50’s it was not unusual to see a group of mothers rounding up their children ready for bed, not to see at least one of them carrying a folded up belt or stick with which to countenance any thoughts of ‘not doing what you are told’.
Growing up in the 40s and 50s here in Australia, it wasn’t uncommon here either.